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PMS scheme: PU to charge fees from students from next year
As per the circular, the students who are receiving PMS directly by the Punjab government through the direct beneficiary transfer (DBT) scheme, will be charged course fees and examination fees, from the 2024-25 session
Panjab University (PU) has issued a circular instructing that the students enrolled under the Post Matric Scholarship (PMS) scheme will have to pay course fees and examination fees from 2024-25 session.
The decision comes after the issue was brought up in the syndicate meeting held on September 23.
As per the circular, the students who are receiving PMS directly by the Punjab government through the direct beneficiary transfer (DBT) scheme, will be charged course fees and examination fees, from the 2024-25 session. This will then be reimbursed to students through DBT by the government.
The Punjab government has not paid the total claim of the university since the 2013-2014 session, causing dues to pile up to ₹20.95 crore.
Students, however, have questioned this development. Gurdeep Singh, a PhD scholar from PU and a former Ambedkar Students Association member, said PU cannot do this, as the PMS scheme guidelines state that all eligible students were entitled to take admission in institutions without prepayment of tuition and hostel fee.
“There is a SC/ST cell and equal opportunities cell in PU, members of which were not taken into confidence before making this decision. It was done in a rush and we will protest against it,” he said, adding that some of the students who will get affected by this will organise a protest outside the next syndicate meeting.
Around 2,000 PU students benefit from this scheme.
As per the university, the objective of the PMS scheme is to provide financial assistance to SC students studying at post-matriculation or post-secondary stage to enable them to complete their education. SC students who belong to Punjab and whose annual family income is below ₹2.5 lakh are eligible for the scheme.
The syndicate in December 2022 had resolved that a letter would be sent by the vice-chancellor (V-C) to the Punjab government that earlier the university and colleges used to take fees from SC students but after the Punjab government’s letter to the university, they stopped paying the fees and the government also didn’t release full funds.
Letters were sent to the Punjab government on January 30 and May 18, but no reply has been yet received and no pending grant from the government claimed since the 2013-2014 session has been released. Chief minister Bhagwant Singh Mann’s personal intervention was sought as it had become difficult for the university to continue the scheme.
